Sweet Salida Colorado

My sweet baby Elias is four months old this week. To celebrate I treated myself with a trip to the annual COMA conference in Salida last
weekend. My studio manager Sahra came with me and we had such a fun time. The luxurious part was I hired my awesome babysitter Amy to come with us.

This meant I actually got to see and enjoy the presenters who spoke and gave demonstrations like Jamie Bennett (his enamel brooch pictured above).

and the sculptured reliefs of Linda Kindler Priest,
so natural and organic.

Salida is also the future home to an exhibit that I am so excited about. I can't believe that I live close enough to be able to see Over the River in person when it comes to Colorado in 2012.

Artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude will suspend horizontally a total of 5.9 miles of silvery, luminous fabric panels high above the Arkansas River along a 40-mile stretch of the river between Salida and Cañon City in south-central Colorado. I'm dreaming that maybe my family and I can volunteer to be a part of the set up. I signed up on their website so I've got my fingers crossed!

The Red Thread

We're starting work on new designs that will be released later this year. Whenever I am designing new pieces, I like to look back at the recent things I've made. It's always fascinating after I've been laboring away on an intricate piece for a long time to take a break and then go back and look at it with fresh eyes later.

My recent birth experience got me thinking about this sculptural object I made, based on the birth of my first son. It was an art school project and the assignment was for it to be an optical device, and we also had to incorporate chasing and repousse', fancy words for different hammering techniques.

If you look closely at the photo above you can see my son's face through the quartz. The piece is sterling with red silk thread and a photo decal of my son as an infant.

While I was working on the project I heard this story on NPR, an interview with singer songwriter Lucy Kaplanski that moved me to tears.

She talks about an ancient Chinese belief which states that when a child is born an invisible red thread connects that child's soul to all those people - present and in the future - who will play a part in that child's life. As each birthday passes, those threads shorten and tighten, bringing closer those people who are fated to be together.

I decided to base my piece on this concept. The finished work took me about 3 months to complete, but I would love to do a mass-market version based on the same idea that could be made in larger quantities more quickly. I think so many people would love a piece of jewelry about the red thread story. The lyrics to Ms. Kaplanski's song, which so inspired my work, are below.

I was only a girl when I went out on my own
You wrapped me up warm and just let me go
Now I live at the far end of this long distance line
And I'm just another one who's gone and left you behind

Wish we could look at your pictures, all the places you've been
I don't think you will but you can see them again
'Cause you can see them through me
The brown eyes I got from you
Now I wish I could give them back to you

This much I can say, this much I can do
When your heart is empty I'll try to fill it for you
'Cause I'm the girl who learned to love from watching you

Wish that I could tell you it'll all be all right
But you never did believe it through the trials of your life
You and I both know it just isn't true
When so much you love has been taken from you

I remember when you told me if we run out of time
How happy you were just to know she'll be mine
When I wrap her up warm, you'll be right next to me
'Cause they say that the red thread that ties me to you
Ties her to me

This much I can say, this much I can do
When your heart is empty I'll try to fill it for you
This much I can say, this much I can do
When your heart is empty I'll try to fill it for you
'Cause I'm the girl who learned to love from watching you
Watching you, watching you